Nigeria, only a handful of names have stood out to tell a different
story, not only in Nigerian circles but across global scenes, too. One
very prominent name to reckon with is the iconic name of Dr Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala, who through sheer hard work and pristine service has
risen to the ranks of a national hero. She is a woman of reckoning
across the world, sitting on many seats without breaking them, standing
at many a podium, accepting heavy responsibilities and handling them all
with classy aplomb, thus deserving the countless feathered caps that sit
so immaculately well on her head.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is not a name that suddenly leapt out of nowhere. It
belongs to a personality that has worked hard and tirelessly in the
economic echelon of Nigeria. One quick mention of this is, to quote
Forbes, “helping to increase the economic value of Nigeria by an average
of 6%, consistently for three years”. This is no small feat as Nigeria’s
economy is considered one of the largest in Africa and had been on a
steady decline. This Harvard and MIT trained epitome of excellence has
left a long line of achievements in her trail and, at the risk of
sounding repetitive, recounted they must be.
Mrs Ngozi Okonjo Iweala has shown her devotion to Nigeria’s progress
since as far back as 1981 when she bagged a PhD in Regional Economics
with a thesis on Credit Policy, Rural Financial markets, and Nigeria’s
Agricultural Development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT). She has since then, had a 25-year career with the World Bank,
rising to the position of the Managing Director, the second-highest
position there, and making indelible waves in procuring aid and support
for developing countries. She also served as a two time Minister of
Finance of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (2003-2006, 2011-2015),
Coordinating Minister of the Economy (2011-2015) and Minister of Foreign
Affairs (June-August 2006).
During this time, she established herself as a leader who doesn’t turn
up her nose at the mess made, but as one who rolls up her sleeve to
clean up the debris. This she proved by embarking on several
groundbreaking projects, including helping to increase the economic
strength of the country, driving negotiations that led to the relief of
Nigeria’s over USD30 billion debt, initiating transparency and
accountability in the system with tools and policies such as
publications of monthly financial allocations to each state, the
Treasury Single Account (TSA) and the Integrated Payroll and Personnel
Information System (IPPIS). She also spearheaded several notable
projects such as the Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Corporation (NMRC), the
Growing Girls and Women in Nigeria Programme (GWIN) and the Youth
Enterprise with Innovation Programme (YouWIN), which has been proclaimed
as one of the most effectual agendas deployed for economic balance by
the World Bank.
She has not only clinched remarkable notches to her bedpost on a
national level. She has also gained acclaim on an international level,
as someone capable of deriving positive results from the most strenuous
of situations. The results of her work in Nigeria, a country renowned
for its complacent and fraudulent elements with a high rate of
corruption and poverty, are only testaments to this fact.
Apart from her position at the World Bank, this remarkable woman has
held and still holds several positions with international organisations.
Some of these include Chair on the Board of the Global Alliance for
Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI); Senior Adviser at Lazard, one of the
foremost financial and asset management firms in the world; Chair of the
Board of the African Risk Capacity of the AU; Nonresident Distinguished
Fellow with the Africa Growth Initiative in the Global Economy and
Development Programme at Brookings; Adviser on Stolen Assets Recovery
Initiative at the World Bank; Board of Directors, Twitter; Special Envoy
on COVID-19 for the African Union, to mention a few.
With the endless economical threats the infamous COVID-19 pandemic
poses, Dr Okonjo-Iweala, a recipient of several awards and honorary
degrees has written several articles and accepted several speaking
engagements with World Economic Forum, CNBC Africa, World Bank among
others. These were steps taken in a bid to give solid and practicable
solutions to the economic and health problems caused by the pandemic.
Little wonder local, national and international organisations all over
the globe have been more than eager to engage her expertise in just a
few short weeks she was appointed not only as an AU Special Envoy on
COVID-19 solutions and a special envoy for the newly inaugurated Access
to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) accelerator. She also sits on the External
Advisory Board of the International Monetary Fund and the Presidential
Economic Advisory Council of South Africa and since she has been
appointed for this latter role by the President of South Africa in
March, she has been nothing but a positive influence on the growth of
their economy, despite the economic influences of a global pandemic.
This unbeatable portfolio of effective leadership is no doubt a solid
launching pad for Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to head the World Trade
Organisation. She has the experience to deliver. She has promised to
work at bringing the World Trade to a point of unity and purpose and to
deploy the WTO as a platform for sustainable growth and economic
recovery. From the much we know, she is more than capable of this. She
is a woman that has carved a niche in a field where few can stand and
walked a path where many have slipped.
While it is obvious that it will take more than a few well-constructed
sentences to achieve these promises, it is also more trustworthy to say
that if anyone can walk her talk with tangible results, it is Dr
Okonjo-Iweala.
Oluwakemi Makinde is dedicated to informative writing that drives
positive change and impact in the society. She is an advocate of both
art for art sake and art for life sake.
Thank you for your kind consideration.
Respectfully,
Oluwakemi Makinde